STUDENTS from Farnham Heath End School (FHES) have won the national Diana Award, which was established in memory of the late Princess of Wales and recognises young peoples’ contributions to society.
Each of the six students involved was recognised because of their selfless desire and time they volunteered to make a difference to the well-being of young people in their community.
The group was challenged to improve the welfare of their peers and help those who are experiencing stress.
With support from youth charity, EIKON, which has a youth specialist based at the school, the students created the ‘Box of Sunshine’, a small box filled with items and information to alleviate stress.
They then went onto successfully secure £2,821 from the Community Foundation for Surrey to mass produce the boxes.
The process took students on an inspired journey from training as well-being ambassadors in year nine, to collecting their award from Leslie Morgan OBE and Tessy Ojo, chief executive officer of the Diana Award.
Students collected the award at Barclays headquarters in Canary Wharf, London.
At the ceremony, students were surrounded by a number of inspiring young people who have given their time to support others around them.
After the event, one FHES student said: “It was empowering to be surrounded by such wonderful people.”
Pupils were also encouraged by Matthew Enright, VP of Barclays Bank and a Diana Award holder himself, to continue the journey of support and dedication for people, in both their own and other communities.
Principal Stuart Maginnis said: “This is a huge success for these students and we are extremely proud that they have worked together to come up with this award-winning idea.”
Boxes have now been distributed in nine other secondary schools across Surrey.
The team also created a film about their initiative, which was launched at the Maltings on June 17.
? There was more student success last week when pupils at FHES collected their GCSE results - see page 12 for photographs and student reactions.